Snoggletog Showdown
by OrangeCat64
Summary: When the dragons leave again for Dragon Island, just before Berk's biggest holiday, Hiccup and his friends find a way to pass the time until they return, in the form of a new game. However, though it helps them not to dwell on how much they miss their dragons, it also causes all sorts of craziness and shenanigans, much to the confusion of everyone else on Berk.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Merry Christmas! I had so much fun writing this story, I hope it brings you some holiday cheer.

This is dedicated to my HTTYD friend, KN Hudson, who encouraged me to write more!

—

Snoggletog Showdown

It was that time of year again. It happened before every Snoggletog now, but it still tore at their hearts, every time. Despite the festive atmosphere and the cheery holiday, everybody missed the dragons. They would fly off to lay their eggs, which was a happy thing really, and return with their little babies just in time for the Snoggletog feast on the eve of the Viking's biggest and most heartfelt holiday.

It was their fourth Snoggletog since they had made peace with dragons and the few days without them didn't feel quite right, despite Berk's previous history, and everyone found new ways to distract themselves and fill the time with new activities and traditions. Everyone had their own way of coping and celebrating. There were cooking contests, games, drinking, parties... and then there were the six Dragon Riders.

Hiccup and his friends stood at a crossroads in the middle of the Village Square, staring each other down with suspicious looks. Who was going to make the first move once it started?

The people of Berk either paid them no mind, seeing as odd behavior was quite normal coming from them, or they eyed them with curiosity, wondering what they were about to do. However, as the dragons had left earlier that day with the exception of Toothless, who stood in the middle of the group of friends, the Berkians continued their preparations for the few days of fun and activities.

"Hurry up and give us the signal, Toothless, I'm ready to start!" Snotlout demanded in impatience. Toothless turned to him slowly, an unamused expression on his face, and snorted.

"Don't anger the referee! He gave Hiccup a penalty last year!" Fishlegs panicked, then tried to appease the Night Fury. "Good referee..."

"Traitor..." Hiccup muttered in response to Fishlegs' comment about his "unfair" ruling from the previous year. Toothless immediately snapped his head around to give Hiccup a look that was supposed to be intimidating, his big, green eyes wide, and a warning frown on his face, but it ended up making Hiccup laugh. "You take your job so seriously, don't you?"

Toothless gave him an affirming nod of his head and a grunt. He was the only dragon on Berk right now and by choice, seeing as Hiccup would grant him his independent flight with a new prosthetic, if he wanted it. But Toothless did not want to fly without his beloved rider. Toothless knew the people missed their dragons and that Hiccup felt bad that he was the only one who had his dragon during this time of year, so he would participate in this game and help them to enjoy their weird celebration.

"I'm going to take you all down!" Snotlout started some trash talk.

"What are you talking about? Only one person can lose at this game." Astrid corrected him.

"Uh, what are you talking about, fair Astrid?" Tuffnut asked with his usual dramatics. "There is only one winner, and I intend to keep up my winning streak for the third year in a row."

"What?" Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs said at the same time. Toothless made a confused cooing sound and Snotlout gave him a look that said that he thought Tuff was an idiot.

Ruffnut chuckled to herself.

"Tuffnut, this is a game of tag that lasts a few days. Whoever is It by the time the dragons come back, is the loser." Hiccup explained.

"Yeah, a loser for a whole year, until the game starts up again. And you've been a loser for two whole years!" Snotlout mocked.

"Wait... what?" Tuffnut turned to Ruffnut, "But you let me win last year, because it was the day before Snoggletog!"

"And the year before that, because you broke your arm slipping on that ice." Ruffnut laughed to herself.

"That was a good year... a broken arm and I won our first game of Snoggletog Tag." Tuffnut reminisced, getting another chuckle from Ruffnut.

"Ruffnut!" Hiccup reprimanded. "Oh gods..."

Toothless growled and sent a glare Ruffnut's way. Oh, she was getting so close to receiving some kind of penalty. Maybe he would make her play with her legs tied together.

"Referee Toothless disapproves of your deception!" Hiccup spoke for his dragon. Toothless nodded his agreement and gave another snort. "But... he's feeling oddly forgiving today, seeing as he didn't give me a free pass last year..."

Toothless gave a low growl and sent Hiccup a smug look.

"Right, so he's giving you a warning and you have to explain the game to Tuffnut before we start."

"Ugh! Hurry up, the anticipation is killing me! I need to run before I get tagged first." Snotlout complained.

"Okay, okay! Ruin my fun." Ruffnut rolled her eyes and met Tuffnut's accusing gaze, his hands on his hips. "We're playing a game of tag that starts after the dragons leave and ends the moment they step foot back on Berk and we have our traditional Snoggletog Eve celebration. Whoever is still It, once the game ends, is the loser."

"But why does the loser get rewarded?" Tuffnut asked with confusion.

"What do you mean? The loser has to drink Astrid's Yaknog." Snotlout said, gaining a huff of indignation from Astrid.

"Exactly, you get to drink something gross and throw up all over the place!" Tuffnut grinned.

"Gross." Hiccup commented, Astrid gave him a look. "Sorry, but it's gross."

"No, no. Tuffnut has a point." Ruffnut said.

"Whatever! The point is, that whoever is It, is the loser and starts the next year's game." Hiccup finished the explanation.

"That makes more sense." Tuffnut had a thoughtful look on his face. "Nice one Ruffnut, Loki would be proud."

"Why thank you dear brother."

Toothless let out a small roar to interrupt.

"Right, and Toothless wants to remind everyone that no one on Berk, other than us, knows about our yearly game of Snoggletog Tag. Part of the game is that if you're the reason someone finds out, then you get punished by Referee Toothless. So... be sneaky and have a lot of excuses ready to go, because things are about to get crazy."

"Referee Toothless has also granted my request to make a rule that no one is allowed to be tagged in the middle of the night while they are in bed!" Astrid nearly yelled, but didn't want passers by to hear. "Otherwise, I have permission to chop you up with my axe!"

Referee Toothless grunted in agreement, backing up his best friend's kind-of-a-mate. That was everything. As far as Toothless was concerned, they were ready to begin. He stood up and walked a slow lap around the six friends, giving them all suspicious looks, warning them to obey the rules or he would bust them. Then he sat in the middle of the circle again and raised his head, the group of 19 year olds readied themselves. Toothless fired off a plasma blast into the sky, startling the nearby villagers, and the group dispersed in different directions.

—

Day One:

It really wasn't the smartest idea to run in all different directions, Hiccup thought. Sure, he was safely away from the group, but now he had no idea who was It. Had Tuffnut tagged someone? He would just have to avoid all of them. Which was a shame really. Astrid had started a new Snoggletog tradition, where two people under a mistletoe decoration had to kiss. It was an excuse made by her to kiss her relatively new boyfriend more often, seeing as they had started courting while on Dragon's Edge. And Hiccup really liked this new tradition, unlike most of her other ones.

Hiccup watched the street below him from his spot on the roof of the forge in the middle of the village. It was a good vantage point, but he hadn't seen any of the others since he climbed up to this spot. Maybe it was safe to come down, he was getting bored.

He could see Toothless patrolling the streets of Berk and occasionally jumping up to a high spot, to keep an eye on the game. Hiccup chuckled to himself, his silly dragon really did take his referee position very seriously.

Seeing as Toothless didn't seem to be spotting anyone else either, Hiccup decided the coast was clear and to climb down. He was getting a little hungry and had stashed some food in a stable earlier, so as to avoid being ambushed on his way home or while heading to the Great Hall. He just needed to get to it without Toothless knowing, it was his cunning that got him in trouble last year.

"Hey."

"Ah!" Hiccup jumped and almost fell over.

"Why are you so jumpy?" Gobber asked as he came out of the forge. "Were you on the roof?"

"Uh... yes. I, I was up there." Hiccup didn't expand on the subject. This was the worst part of the game for him, coming up with excuses for his weirder than usual behavior.

"Great! Help me put up these decorations, will you?" Gobber put down a box that he had been carrying and pulled out a string of beautiful ornaments.

"Yeah, okay." Hiccup said with a sigh, there went his sneaky plans.

"Cheer up, Hiccup! Nobody envies you for having Toothless around when the other dragons are gone." Gobber thought he knew why Hiccup looked disappointed, he was too empathetic. He felt bad for having something the others didn't. Gobber wanted to cheer him up, Hiccup deserved to be happy. He was the reason they had dragons to begin with. "If not for you, we'd still be having dragon raids during our holiday. This is better. And we all know you and Toothless have a special bond, so don't worry so much."

"Um, thanks Gobber. That's good to hear." Hiccup gave his mentor and friend a genuine smile. The game had been helping him avoid all those feelings, and Gobber's kind words really were a comfort.

"Of course." Gobber said before leaving to take a look at the forge from a short distance away. "This would look good strung across the middle part, right there, don't you think?"

Hiccup gave his surroundings a quick and discreet look before joining Gobber. "Yeah, that would look great."

Hiccup decided that he could forgo his plans for the game for a couple hours, and help Gobber decorate. He liked spending time with Gobber and he was having a good time talking to him while they put up Snoggletog decorations.

"I'm glad I ran into you, this would be a lot harder without your help." Gobber talked as he nailed some decorations in place, Hiccup handed him the things he asked for from the ground. "And it would have been a lot less enjoyable."

"Yeah, I'm having a good time too." Hiccup responded. The forge was looking pretty festive by this point. "Don't you usually have this place decorated as soon as the month starts?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to make some new decorations this year. The other ones were getting old."

"Hm, I guess they were."

"But I kept that." Gobber pointed to the box on the ground next to Hiccup, and he peered inside.

"Oh!" Hiccup picked up a small, decorative shield with an intricate star design painted on the front. The paint was slightly faded but it was still beautiful. "I remember this."

"You made that when you first started working in the forge." Gobber reminisced. "And it will always go in a special spot every Snoggletog."

Hiccup smiled down at the shield.

"Hey."

"Ah!" Hiccup jumped, again, holding the shield defensively in front of him.

"Calm down, Hiccup. It's just me." Astrid laughed at his response.

"Oh? Just you?" Hiccup gave her a suspicious look, still hiding behind the small, decorative shield.

"Yep. Just Astrid. Your girlfriend." Astrid smiled, enjoying Hiccup's reaction.

"And are you... here, for something specific?"

"Oh gods, do you call that flirting?" Gobber rolled his eyes at the young couple. "You two deserve each other."

"I'm not flirting." Hiccup said defensively.

"I know." Gobber said in a flat tone. Astrid laughed as Hiccup made a face.

"I just wanted to see if you two wanted some more help." Astrid explained as Hiccup narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "Really, Hiccup. I still want to enjoy the holiday, despite everything. And you two look like you're having fun."

"We would love it if you joined us." Gobber said with enthusiasm. "Wouldn't we, Hiccup?"

"I mean... we're almost done, but sure." Hiccup said dismissively even though he would really love for Astrid to join them. He couldn't help but wonder... what was she planning? This had to be some kind of scheme. He always fell for it, every year. Astrid knew just how to play him. He was too nice for his own good.

"Great!" Astrid closed the space between herself and Hiccup. He tensed as she got closer, but didn't move. Astrid gave him a sweet smile as she took the shield from his hands, leaned forward, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Hiccup blinked in surprise, she hadn't tagged him. Oh no, she was messing with him. Now he was going to question everything she did. She always got in his head.

Astrid turned away and handed the decorative shield up to Gobber, who thanked her and put it at the center of the decorations. She glanced back at Hiccup with a sly smile. He needed to find a way out of this situation because she definitely had something up her sleeve.

Hiccup turned out to be very good at the game of tag. He was practiced at slipping away unnoticed, running from and avoiding people. It was kind of sad when they all thought about why he was good at these things, but Hiccup used it to his full advantage. On top of that, he was also very clever. He rarely ever got tagged. But when he did, it was all because Astrid managed to trip him up in some way. And she had a lot of fun messing with his head.

"Take the other end of this so I can untangle it." Astrid instructed Hiccup as she pulled out another string of ornaments. She reached out her hand, holding one end of the string, so that he could take it. But Hiccup didn't want to go near her hand and he didn't move. "Hiccup?"

"No..." He said hesitantly, gods he was going to sound like a jerk. "You can do it."

Astrid raised an eyebrow at him, the playful look still on her face. Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing, backing him into a corner.

"What? Hiccup, help her." Gobber looked away from his hammering to stare down at them. What had gotten into Hiccup? He was always the first to offer to help someone. He was always so polite and courteous.

"I'm good." Hiccup gave Astrid an unamused look. She met his eye with utter confidence and humor. She had him right where she wanted him, and Hiccup didn't even know if she was It or not! For all he knew, he was refusing to help her and making himself seem like a terrible person, for no reason at all. But he was determined not to fall for Astrid's little mind games this time around.

"Fine. I'll do it myself." She said in an affronted voice that contrasted the humor on her face. Gods, she could act when she needed to. Hiccup, on the other hand, always got too flustered to pull off an act like that. Which gave her the upper hand.

"Fine." He said back, a little nervously.

"Fine." She repeated.

Gobber watched them incredulously. What was going on with those two? First, it seemed like Hiccup didn't want Astrid around. Then, he refused to help her. Maybe they had a fight or something, but that didn't sound like them at all. Hiccup was too kind and forgiving to let a fight get in the way of being polite and, especially not, in the way of being friendly with Astrid.

—

As soon as Toothless shot his plasma blast into the air, Tuffnut ignored everyone else and went straight for his sister. Ruffnut may have had inspiration from Loki himself, but now he had to pay her back. Ruffnut, however, knew this was coming.

Ruffnut took off as fast as she could, not sparing a second to look back at her brother. She knew he was there, dogging her every step. They were pretty similar when it came to physical prowess, she was unlikely to lose him. No, she would have to be smart about this if she was going to get away.

Then she stopped without warning, standing in place.

Tuffnut barely had any time to react, not that he would have tried to avoid the collision anyway, and he crashed into his sister. Both of them tumbled to the ground and rolled a couple feet before stopping in a tangle of limbs.

"That was awesome." Tuffnut complimented from underneath Ruffnut. "But why? Now you're It."

Tuffnut quickly slapped his sister's shoulder, which was conveniently located not too far from one of his hands. Ruffnut untangled herself and stood up, Tuff following.

"I could run away from you all day, just to get tagged by you anyway... or, I could just get the tagging over with and pass it on to someone else. There are no tag backs, so then I would be safe for a little while." Ruffnut explained.

"Okay, but that's assuming that you'll find someone to tag and actually manage to catch them."

"But what if we pretended that you hadn't tagged me?"

"...I'm listening." Tuffnut's mischievous soul was intrigued.

"You keep chasing me around until everyone lets down their guard. Then I run in and tag the first person I see." Ruffnut told her brother her plan. "Everyone always disappears for the first day of the game and that's no fun. We need to draw them out. Give them a false sense of security. They'll think that you'll stop at nothing to get your revenge and let their guard down."

"I like it! Just one problem." Tuffnut deflated a little. "Referee Toothless. Who knew that dragon was so by the book? Especially with the stunts him and Hiccup pull on a daily basis."

"He's only a problem if he knows what we're doing. Make it look convincing."

—

The first day that the dragons were gone was usually a little quiet. People were setting up for the parties and games to pass the days until the dragons returned and the Snoggletog Eve feast took place. The scent of wonderful food drifted through the village as everyone prepared their best dishes.

Astrid had gone straight home after the game of Snoggletog Tag had started and spent a couple hours with her mom who was notorious for her delicious apple pies. Her mom, Sigrid, had been rather suspicious of Astrid's sudden desire to help with the domestic task. Astrid wasn't much of a cook, mostly because she didn't have enough patience to do something so menial. She liked to be moving. She liked action.

However, Sigrid always wished that Astrid would slow down enough to spend some time with her mother and help with her holiday pies. So, she didn't question Astrid when she offered to help and instead took advantage of the rare moment.

Astrid technically wasn't breaking any rules. She had been in one place for a couple hours, sure, but she wasn't hiding. Anyone could walk right into her home and tag her while she was slicing apples for her mom. Really, anyone. They could come right in and tag her, in front of her mom, while she was wielding a knife. She dared them to.

But no one ever showed up and Astrid hadn't heard any commotion outside either. The Hofferson household was fairly close to the center of the village, if something big had happened, she was fairly sure she would have heard.

Her cover had to end at some point, though, as her mom didn't need her help baking the dozens of pies. Once the pies were assembled, it was just a waiting game and Astrid wasn't a fan of sitting in one place for too long. Her mom had other holiday preparations to make anyway.

Astrid was wondering what she should do next when her father, Arne, came in the front door. Astrid looked up, startled, wondering if maybe someone had gained the courage to come and tag her in her own home.

"Smells amazing in here." Arne commented as he came in from the cold. "Smells good all over Berk, actually."

"Astrid helped me make some pies." Sigrid walked over to her husband and gave him a welcome home kiss on the cheek.

"Really? That finally happened and I wasn't even here for the momentous occasion?" Arne teased his daughter.

"Haha, dad. You're as funny as ever." Astrid rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

"I'm actually more surprised that you are here instead of out with your friends." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Or out with a certain someone."

"Oooh, yes. Why aren't you out pushing your silly new traditions on that certain someone?" Sigrid joined her husband in teasing their daughter.

"Why are you two ganging up on me?" Astrid stood up from her seat. "I spend a lot of time with Hiccup and a lot of time off of Berk. Can't a daughter come home for the holidays and make some pies with her mother?"

Her parents laughed in unison. They could tell she loved Hiccup. Everyone knew they would get together at some point. They may not have been officially together before, but there was always an unspoken kind of thing between them, that they were meant to be. But they enjoyed teasing her about it anyway, about how long it took them to finally start courting.

"Is that the trick, then? Send you away for months at a time so that you'll feel all nostalgic when you get home and agree to bake with me?" Sigrid continued to tease. Arne chuckled, by her side.

"You know what? Maybe I spend more time with Hiccup because he's better company than you two." Astrid tried to keep a frustrated expression on her face but was obviously hiding a smile. She headed for the door, she had been planning to leave anyway, before her dad had shown up.

"He's at the forge with Gobber!" Arne called after her just before she shut the door.

—

Hiccup stood awkwardly to the side as Astrid made a bigger effort to tangle herself up in the string of decorations than to untangle them, making a point as to seem like she could use some help.

Gobber watched from his place on the roof as he waited for someone to hand him something to hang up. Obviously, he would be waiting for a while. Hiccup refused to go near Astrid and Astrid was making a mess of things. Either they were fighting or he had been right, they really sucked at flirting.

Just as Gobber was about to speak up and question their odd behavior the sound of someone running through the snow reached his ears. Hiccup and Astrid had heard it too.

"No!" Hiccup rolled over the counter of the forge, landing inside. He had no idea who was It, but the twins were both racing toward him and Astrid. Hiccup was not about to be It, especially after the show Astrid was putting on out there just to embarrass him. She deserved to be It, if she wasn't already.

Astrid tried to dodge as Ruffnut came for her, but she had made herself vulnerable as she messed with Hiccup. The string of ornaments was wrapped around her and she tripped backwards and landed hard on her back when she tried to move.

"Hello there, Astrid." Ruffnut slid to a stop, snow flinging onto Astrid. "Need some help?"

Tuffnut stopped a distance away. There were no tag backs, so he was safe to follow Ruffnut around as she looked for her next victim. But when Ruffnut tagged Astrid, he was no longer safe. He would need to run for it.

Hiccup peeked over the counter, hoping to go unnoticed by the twins. He would need to slip away before Astrid could really get after him.

"No, I'm fine. You can just leave." Astrid replied casually as she lay, tangled up, on the ground.

"If you say so." Ruffnut shrugged, bent over, and tapped Astrid on the head. Ruffnut cackled as she ran away. With the way things seemed to be set up, Hiccup would likely come to his girlfriend's rescue. Pick her up off the ground and make sure that she was okay, then get tagged for his nice deed, as usual. Ruffnut had to get out of there, before Hiccup set his sights on her and plotted. He may not be the fastest of them, but he was smart and uncharacteristically good at this game.

"Gah!" Astrid yelled in frustration. She hadn't planned this out very well. She had seen Hiccup having a good time with Gobber and couldn't help herself, she had to mess with him. Now she really was It, and tangled up as she lay in the wet snow.

"What in Odin's name was that about?" Gobber asked, completely at a loss to what was going on.

"Just a couple of idiots running around and causing trouble." Astrid struggled as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Nothing new there."

Hiccup hopped the counter again and landed back outside. He was going to slip out the back, but Astrid looked as if she had landed pretty hard.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Hiccup. I'm great." Astrid replied sarcastically. "Are you going to untangle me?"

"Uh..." Hiccup took a couple steps toward her, then stopped. Normally, he would help her, no matter the consequences. The consequences in this case, being that he would end up as It. But... why should she be the only one of the two who played so unfairly? Astrid got to him, every time. But this year... this year would be different. Gobber probably already thought he was being rude, why stop now? "You said you were fine, right?"

"Other than the fact that I am on the ground, wet, and tied up with Snoggletog decorations. Yeah, sure."

"Well, that's what you get for being so bad at untangling things." Hiccup was facing Astrid, his back to Gobber, who was still on the roof. Hiccup gave Astrid a sly smile. He would give it right back to her. She hadn't even been It! And yet she had played him.

"You wouldn't help me!" Astrid played the victim.

"And... I still won't." He shrugged casually.

"What...?" Gobber said in confusion, but he went ignored. Astrid's eyes widened slightly as she realized that Hiccup was serious about not helping her. Oh... he was stepping up his game. She kind of liked it, the confidence he was exuding. Okay, she could deal with that. She would come up with another plan to get him.

"So, I'll see you later. Probably." Hiccup turned away from her and started walking up the street. "Bye, Gobber! This was fun."

They both watched as Hiccup disappeared from view, heading in the direction of his home. Gobber wasn't quite sure what to make of everything that had just happened. He climbed down from the roof of the forge, clumsily, and pulled Astrid to her feet. He helped her get untangled.

"So... ah, do I even want to ask?" Gobber casually brought up the subject as Astrid extricated herself from the decorations.

"Ask what?" Astrid feigned ignorance. She didn't really have an excuse this time and didn't want to give their game away.

"Are you and Hiccup... maybe having a fight?" Gobber felt awkward talking to the young woman about this. He would have preferred to ask Hiccup, if he had to bring it up at all. He would rather just not get involved, but they had both been acting strangely.

"Psh, no. Hiccup? Fight? Yeah, right." Astrid brushed him off as she set the decorations aside. The forge was decorated enough, it didn't need anything more.

"Mmhmm. That's convincing." Gobber gave her a look, but she was refusing to meet his eye. She would probably make an excuse and leave as soon as she could. Not that Gobber minded, her and Hiccup's relationship was hardly his business. But he cared for them both, and would help if he could. "As convincing as the behavior I just saw from you both."

"It's nothing. We'll figure it out. I have to go." Astrid hadn't even bothered with an excuse before leaving. She also hadn't tried that hard to deny that they were fighting. Gobber was surprised. Hiccup and Astrid got along so well, everyone assumed they would get together eventually. Everyone already considered them a couple before they had even officially started courting. They never really fought before, why would they now? Hopefully they would sort things out before Snoggletog.

—

Snotlout had decided to really push his luck in regards to following the rules. They were not supposed to go into the woods during the game of tag. The boundaries were along the perimeter of the village, seeing as the woods were so big.

There was a spot, just on the outskirts of Berk's forests where the Berkians would often cut down trees and chop what they needed and leave the rest for someone else to come along and take.

Spitelout, Snotlout's father, had been on his way to chop up some wood. Much to Spitelout's surprise, his son jumped at the chance to go with him and help out. Snotlout wasn't one to go out of his way to help out with chores or do work. But Spitelout decided to attribute the odd behavior to Hookfang being away and the overall do-good feeling that came with Snoggletog.

Father and son had spent the majority of the day together, talking and chopping wood at a leisurely pace. They were having a good time and were in no hurry. And Snotlout wasn't particularly eager to head back into the village and have to square off with whoever was It. Although, he knew he was pushing his luck.

Toothless had wandered the perimeter of the Snoggletog Tag boundaries and had seen Snotlout, just past its edge. After giving him a look that said 'I have my eye on you,' Toothless had left him alone.

Hours later, however, Snotlout had not been seen back in the village and Referee Toothless had decided that he had given Snotlout more than enough bonding time with his father. So he headed back to see if he was still there.

"Well, I think we chopped enough wood for everyone on Berk." Spitelout commented as he added another log to the stack.

"Oh wow, look at that." Snotlout responded warily. Now he would have to head back, his excuse for being out here no longer valid.

"Let's just take what we need and head back home. Your mother is probably waiting for us." Spitelout bent to pick up some pieces and started piling them in his son's arms. This was great. Now he would have to return to the village with a huge pile of wood. He would be completely vulnerable. At least he got to enjoy the time with his father, so there was that.

Spitelout loaded himself up with an equally hefty load of wood and led the way back. Snotlout was acting strangely, though. He was looking all over the place and ducking behind his dad, as if to hide himself.

As they neared the outskirts of the village, they saw Toothless walking toward them. Snotlout was glad that he had headed back before the Night Fury had returned and decided to chase him back within bounds and penalize him for cheating. Snotlout was however, not saved from Toothless' suspicious glare and a roar to the face in warning as they passed each other.

"What is going on with him?" Spitelout questioned the odd interaction between his son and the dragon.

"Who knows." Snotlout blew it off as nothing. "He's as weird as Hiccup."

There was another roar, aimed at Snotlout, but from a distance away. Toothless had heard him. That didn't bode well for him. Snotlout would have to be on his best behavior if he didn't want to get in trouble with Referee Toothless. He was definitely on thin ice with the dragon now.

—

It was always satisfying to tag someone else. It gave her a sense of victory and meant that she was a step further away from losing. But when she tagged Hiccup, it felt even better. Astrid loved Hiccup, she could not deny those feelings, but he was the ultimate player of tag and outsmarting him was a lot of fun. The fact that Hiccup had one-upped her earlier that day and had stepped up his game, only made it that much better.

She was proud of Hiccup. He had come a long way. He was more confident, he was more at ease. He smiled genuinely. He was all-around happier than he had been for the majority of his life. He really proved his skill in a lot of areas with his strategizing and quick thinking. The others thought that she targeted Hiccup as her own special way of flirting with him, and that was partially true. However, her main reason for giving Hiccup a hard time was because she wanted to push him, help him to improve himself and gain more confidence in his abilities. Tag was a surprisingly good way to train.

Astrid had spent the last hour trying to track him down. He had been given quite the head start, what with her being tied up and left on the ground. Good for Hiccup, he hadn't let her take advantage of his kindness. He was proving very hard to find, though. It was getting late, the sun set earlier in the day now, and it was getting colder. She might just have to resign herself to being It overnight and try to find someone tomorrow.

"I wouldn't anger the Night Fury, if I were you." Astrid turned around at the sound of a distant voice. It sounded like Spitelout. A smile spread across Astrid's face. It wasn't Hiccup, but Astrid would tag anyone at this point, so as to not be It for the night.

"Hiccup wouldn't let him hurt me." Snotlout didn't sound too confident in his statement. Astrid followed the voices of father and son and soon found them. She slowly snuck around a corner and stalked them. Astrid mimicked their walking pattern as to not make too much sound from behind them, not that they were that aware of their surroundings to begin with.

When she was close enough to touch him, Astrid reached out her hand and smacked Snotlout's shoulder.

"What?!" Snotlout dropped his armful of wood and turned around in surprise. Astrid stood there with a smug look on her face before taking off, not wanting to have to answer any questions that Spitelout might have. "No!"

Snotlout kicked at some of the fallen pieces of wood in anger. He was It. He should have been more careful.

"What in Thor's name is going on?" Spitelout had no idea why Astrid would smack Snotlout and run.

"Uh..." Snotlout didn't have an excuse ready.

"What did she want?"

"Um... well. She, uh, she probably didn't like me insulting her boyfriend... or his dragon... I think." That was the best he could do.

"Why are you always angering the Hofferson girl? Haven't you learned your lesson by now?" Spitelout accepted the excuse and turned around to head back home. "Pick up that wood and bring it home."

Snotlout sighed. So much for spending time with his dad in order to avoid getting tagged. He had surprisingly enjoyed his day with his father, but was annoyed that it led to him getting tagged.

He resigned himself to being It for the night. He would take the pile of logs back home and his mother would want to spend the evening with the family. She had probably been waiting for more firewood so that she could finish making her best Snoggletog dishes and she would rope him into helping, which didn't sound like a terrible way to spend the evening.

First thing tomorrow, though, he would take Fishlegs down as he left his house in the morning. Fishlegs tended to be an easy target.


	2. Chapter 2

Day Two:

It was morning and Snotlout had been waiting for over and hour. He had made sure to wake up early enough that Fishlegs was unlikely to have left his house yet. Apparently, he had woken up too early. Gods, he was tired of waiting.

All he needed was for clueless Fishlegs to exit the house, then he would ambush him and tag him. Snotlout was faster than Fishlegs, so there was no way he would escape.

The door finally started to open, Snotlout smirked and readied himself. When Fishlegs took his first steps out into the open, Snotlout would run from around his corner and tag him.

The bulky form of his nerdy friend appeared and Snotlout reacted immediately. All a tag took, was a touch from the hand, but Snotlout wouldn't take chances of his victim slipping away, even if it was unlikely. So Snotlout sprinted at full speed and tackled the giant figure to the ground.

"Ah! What the-" Snotlout's eyes widened. That wasn't Fishlegs' voice. "What is going on?!"

Oh no. Snotlout froze before he was tossed aside by Fishgut Ingerman, Fishlegs' father. The man glared at him from his place on the frozen ground. Oh gods, Snotlout had just tackled the wrong person.

"Oh, uh, hey Fishlegs' dad." Snotlout started. "How's your morning been?"

A scuffling sound caught their attention before Fishgut could respond. They both looked up to see Fishlegs scrambling along the roof of the house. Evidently, Fishlegs had decided to exit his home from the window this morning. Fishlegs stumbled to the ground before realizing that he was being watched.

"Fishlegs...?" His father was perplexed by the events of the morning.

Fishlegs' eyes widened and he took on a guilty expression, as if he had been caught in the act of doing something. Snotlout met his eyes and confirmed to his friend that he was It. Without answering his father, Fishlegs panicked and darted away. He had no explanation for his dad and did not want to contend with Snotlout.

Fishgut slowly turned his head to look at the Jorgensen boy. He was in for quite the lecture.

—

"That was awesome!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"I'm so happy I witnessed that." Tuffnut agreed.

The twins were happily sitting on the roof of a house. The had woken early to observe and find out who was It this morning. They had not been disappointed by what they saw.

"You know, being It has its advantages." Ruffnut commented.

"Please, I know how tag works now. You can't fool me."

"No, no. Being It does mean that you are a loser." Ruffnut waved off her brother's response. "I mean that when you are It, at least you get the opportunity to plot against someone else. You can take someone down and it is totally allowed!"

"Hmmm... I suppose you have a point."

"Grrrrr..." A low growl sounded from behind the siblings, startling them. '_No devious plotting or Loki worshipping!'_

"Whoa! Referee Toothless!" Ruffnut was startled. The dragon had come out of no where. "I swear we haven't been up here for very long."

"We're not hiding out up here."

"Or working together."

'_You're on thin ice female troublemaker.'_ Toothless huffed at Ruffnut. Then, for good measure and because Toothless was pretty sure no one else understood him like Hiccup did, he decided to roar loudly in their faces.

Startled, the twins fell backward and rolled down the steep rooftop. Toothless watched as they rolled off the edge and fell to the ground. Oops.

The Night Fury leapt down from the roof and sniffed at the twins. He wanted to make sure they were okay even though he was pretty sure he had seen them walk away from worse falls on Barf and Belch.

"Ugh..." Ruffnut lifted her head and shook it. "Thanks for that..."

Toothless cooed an apology at her and poked her with his nose. He wanted to scare them, not cause them to fall off a house.

"No, really. Thanks. I haven't had a good fall in a while. That was refreshing." Toothless rolled his eyes. Of course. Why had he been worried?

"Wow. That was quite the fall." The twins and Toothless looked over to see who was there. It was Snotlout. He had finally escaped the wrath of Fishlegs' supposedly kind and boring parents and had been startled by two blonde delinquents falling from the sky. "Let me help you..."

Snotlout bent down and tagged Tuffnut. Ruffnut rushed to her feet and ran past Toothless and kept going.

"You couldn't have tagged her instead?" He did not want to be It again, he had been It for two years!

"You were closer." Snotlout shrugged.

"I guess I am just destined to be a loser forever." Tuffnut sighed. He felt like he had just tagged someone else and yet it had already come back to him.

"You know... there is a way to redeem yourself."

"What?"

"If you can tag the untaggable, then it doesn't matter if you've been It for two years. You'll be the one who made Hiccup lose." Snotlout advised Tuffnut.

"You're right! I need to get Hiccup."

Toothless narrowed his eyes at the two. They weren't breaking any rules yet, but he would keep an eye on them. Speaking of Hiccup, however... he hadn't seen his friend yet this morning.

—

Hiccup was having a hard time figuring out how to leave the house. The front door was never a good idea. Unless... maybe it actually was the best exit, because it seemed like the most obvious choice. No, his window seemed like the most obvious choice. If one was trying to sneak out of a house, the window was the obvious go-to. The back door... maybe that was the best option. Maybe someone would have a sudden burst of intelligence and avoid the front door to try to be tricky... but... then maybe that was the obvious plan. He would go out the back door. That was his final decision.

Hiccup peeked out the back door before opening it enough to slip out. He scanned the area with his eyes and then turned to shut the door.

There was a huff of breath on the back of his neck and Hiccup jumped. "Ah!"

Referee Toothless stood behind him.

"Why does everyone keep scaring me?" Hiccup asked in exasperation.

'_We're not doing anything, Mr. Jumpy.' _Toothless grunted at Hiccup.

"Okay, fine. I am a little on edge, I guess."

'A_nd cheating...?' _Toothless gave him a suspicious look.

"I am following the rules! Maybe I was inside for a little longer than needed, but I wasn't hiding!"

Toothless gestured to the woods behind the Haddock home.

"I wasn't about to escape to the woods, either. I just decided to be cautious and exit from the back door." Hiccup explained. "Why are you so determined to catch me breaking your precious rules?"

Toothless was determined to catch anyone who decided to break the rules of the game. That was his job. He straightened himself and took on a self-important look, puffing out his chest a little.

"You're ridiculous." Hiccup said with a fond smile.

'_And you're headed for the village...' _Toothless gave his friend a smug look, before ushering him to the front of the house and toward the village.

"Okay, okay! I'm going."

—

"This whole, trying to think like Hiccup thing, isn't working." Tuffnut informed Snotlout, who couldn't be tagged back and so decided to stick around and help Tuffnut plot against Hiccup.

"It can't be that hard." Snotlout responded before taking on a slightly mocking tone. "Oh, I'm Hiccup and I love dragons and I work in the forge and I draw pictures in my little book and I love my girlfriend."

"Wow, that sounded just like him." Tuffnut said, but without sarcasm, he seemed to mean what he said. "So, where is he?"

"Uh... the forge?"

"We checked there. Besides, Toothless doesn't allow tagging while he is working with hot metals anyway."

"Maybe he is pensively sitting somewhere where he can draw nature?"

"No, he can't go into the woods and we already checked the docks."

"Gobber's?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"The opposite place from where Stoick is?"

"I'm pretty sure they get along better now."

"Avoiding responsibility and his impending Chiefship?"

"Not really a place, but you are on the right track to getting into character." Tuffnut was rather impressed. They did know Hiccup fairly well, they could find him, for sure!

"I'm going, I'm going! Such a pushy dragon." Snotlout and Tuffnut turned at the familiar sound of Hiccup's voice. It seemed as if they didn't even have to keep looking for and thinking like Hiccup. He was right there. Being ushered into the village by one, refereeing Toothless.

Hiccup glanced over and stopped in his tracks. He locked eyes with Tuffnut and he knew. Tuffnut was It. In the blink of an eye, Hiccup had pushed past Toothless and was on the run.

"Go!" Snotlout snapped Tuffnut into action. Tuffnut broke into a run and followed Hiccup.

Tuffnut was faster than Hiccup, having two, real legs and no limp gave him an advantage. However, Hiccup was very aware of this and knew that his advantage lay in putting obstacles between him and his pursuer. Hiccup decided to make for the busiest part of town.

Already, people were in the Village Square and all along the streets of Berk, eating food and playing games, celebrating the holiday. The crowded area made for a good obstacle.

Hiccup was fairly nimble and definitely practiced at running from and escaping possible threats. He weaved through the crowd with relative ease, jumping over things, dodging limbs, and essentially parkour-ing down the crowded street.

"Is that Hiccup?" Gobber asked Stoick as they stood off to the side of the street, chatting and watching the festivities. Stoick followed his friend's gaze and saw Hiccup, quickly and smoothly making his way toward them.

"Hiccup?" Stoick addressed his son loudly and with confusion, but Hiccup didn't pay them any mind. Stoick's son bolted past them without a word. Stoick wanted to know where Hiccup was going in such a hurry and why he seemed to be running from something. And... since when could Hiccup move like that?

Tuffnut wasn't fairing as well in the crowd of merry people. He was struggling to keep up with Hiccup as he pushed through the crowd with much less finesse.

Hiccup had hope that he could lose Tuffnut and make a successful escape. He spared a glance behind himself and didn't see Tuffnut. He was going to make it. As he turned his head back to watch where he was going, his eyes widened and he gasped.

Snotlout had come around a corner and was standing right in front of him. Hiccup didn't have enough time to stop and he collided with Snotlout at full speed. The two of them crashed painfully to the ground and rolled. The crowd of people finally stopped celebrating and gave the two friends their full attention.

"Ow." Hiccup managed to get out. Snotlout groaned beside him.

Stoick winced on his son's behalf. That had looked like a painful collision and a rough landing. He and Gobber moved through the busy street to see if they were okay. However, before they got too far, Tuffnut raced past them.

Hiccup was right there, incapacitated and on the ground. This was his chance to tag him! Tuffnut dived forward, arm outstretched. But Hiccup had seen him coming and despite the pain, he rolled out of the way and got to his feet just in time.

Tuffnut didn't falter, though, he regained his footing after the miss, and lunged forward again. Hiccup dodged.

"Is he trying to slap Hiccup...?" Gobber asked. Stoick just shook his head, he had no idea what was going on. He was quite baffled, to be honest, and for some reason he stood there and watched. Neither moved to stop whatever this was. Maybe their curiosity was getting the better of them and they wanted to see how things played out.

Hiccup, quite impressively, dodged all of Tuffnut's attempts to tag him. He couldn't keep it up forever, though. Hiccup had a problem. Eventually, Tuffnut would land a hit, and tag him. Hiccup could only avoid it for so long. He could dodge and then run, but he would have to run out into the open. Hiccup had the advantage in the crowd, but when it came to running on a stretch of open ground, he was at a disadvantage. Tuffnut would outrun him and overtake him. Hiccup would be tagged.

When Tuffnut next swung his outstretched arm in his direction, Hiccup reached out his hand and met him half-way.

Tuffnut jumped back in surprise. He had just tagged Hiccup. No, Hiccup had just accepted the tag. Hiccup had stopped dodging and deliberately taken the tag from him. Instead of celebrating victory, Tuffnut was immediately on edge. What was Hiccup going to do now? Hiccup with a plan was something to fear.

Hiccup, however, didn't pay Tuffnut any mind after becoming It. Instead, Hiccup turned around, dived forward and rolled into a kneeling position right beside Snotlout, who had been sitting on the ground and watching the tag-battle as if in a trance. Hiccup took advantage, he high-fived Snotlout's forehead, tagging him, and smoothly launched himself to his feet. He was on the run before anyone could so much as blink. Not that he needed to run away, he couldn't be tagged back. He was safe but unwilling to stick around for the aftermath of their little showdown.

After a moment of surprise, Tuffnut startled. Snotlout could tag him again! He turned around and booked it out of there, in the opposite direction of Hiccup.

Snotlout scowled as he sat on the ground. He couldn't believe it. All that plotting and working with Tuffnut was for nothing. He was It, again! Nothing he had done that day had gotten him anywhere. Hiccup had been right there. Right there! They had him cornered and he still got away. Hiccup had been It for a couple seconds, but that didn't really even count since he had purposely been It as part of his plan.

Snotlout pushed himself to his feet and looked around him. Everyone was still staring. He didn't have an excuse or an explanation for them.

"What is everyone looking at?" He grumbled angrily before storming away from the Village Square and all the staring people.

"Do you have any idea what that was all about?" Stoick asked Gobber. The people around them whispered and conversed for a few minutes before going back to their partying.

"I'm still stumped by the fact that Hiccup was capable of any of that." Gobber replied.

"But why were they fighting...?"

"Hmmm... I wonder..."

"What?" Stoick got slightly impatient when Gobber didn't continue his thought.

"Yesterday, Hiccup and I were decorating the forge. When Astrid came along to help, Hiccup almost didn't seem to want her there. Then he refused to help her."

"That doesn't sound like Hiccup."

"I thought the same thing. He wasn't acting quite like himself. When I asked Astrid about it, she didn't exactly deny that they were having a fight."

"That doesn't sound like them, either." Stoick was trying to puzzle it out.

"No, they have always gotten along well. Maybe they're due to have at least one fight."

"It's not very easy to get into a fight with Hiccup. Well, for most people." Stoick and Hiccup got along much better than they used to, but it still took quite the predicament and a lot of goading to get Hiccup to really fight and get angry.

"I don't know why else they would be acting so weird. Maybe they got into a fight, and... the others took sides?" Gobber suggested.

"And what, now they're chasing each other around so they can hit one another?" Stoick was a little skeptical of the explanation, but couldn't think of anything else.

"I don't know, it's just a theory. But they have all been acting weird since the dragons left."

"That's when it all started, isn't it? Next time I see Hiccup, I'll ask him about it." Stoick wanted to know what was going on. It was almost Snoggletog, Hiccup and his friends, and especially his girlfriend, should be getting along and enjoying each other's company.

—

Fishlegs wanted to try a new tactic this year. He always got tagged, a lot. He was an easy target. He wasn't as fast as the others and not nearly as sneaky and cunning as Hiccup. Sure, he and Hiccup were similar in a lot of ways. They were both kind, and book smart. They were both peaceful people who cared about others and loved learning about dragons. But... Hiccup could be devious too. He could be happy and kind one moment, and then suddenly hard and in control in the next moment. Hiccup could handle violence, he could adapt to a situation. Fishlegs had a tendency to panic. It took a lot to get a sincerely angry or violent reaction out of him. Therefore, Hiccup was incredibly good at the game and Fishlegs was not.

This year, however, he decided to go with the tactic of staying in one place for maybe half an hour before scrambling to another place to hide for another half hour and repeating the process. That way he was always on the move, so Toothless couldn't get after him for hiding in one place for the whole game, he had some time to rest in between running around, and it was hard to track him down. Surely his plan had to be working, the closest he had gotten to being tagged this year was when Snotlout tackled his dad to the ground.

Fishlegs had been thinking of where he wanted to go next. He peeked out of where he had been hiding, behind a table of refreshments in the Village Square, the celebration had been going on around him. Fishlegs had actually seen what had gone down between Hiccup and Tuffnut and had been rather impressed. Hiccup had been very smart about the whole situation, and apparently had very good reflexes. Fishlegs didn't think he would have been able to get out of that. Hiccup had allowed himself to get tagged, his strategy had been impressive.

Fishlegs emerged and slowly pushed through the crowd of people. He would use them as cover until he reached the edge of the Square, then he would make a dash for the crowd of people along the busiest street in Berk, who were having a cooking contest. He would be able to sample everyone's famous delicacies and get some food in him while hiding amongst the crowd. He doubted that the others would make a big scene around the other Berkians after the display earlier that day. He would be safe here for a while and he could enjoy some of the Snoggletog festivities.

—

Snotlout was not in a good mood. First, he had gotten in trouble for tackling Mr. Ingerman. Then he had spent the majority of the day helping Tuffnut plot out how to tag Hiccup. Then it turned out that was all for naught, because Hiccup had outsmarted them and he was It. Again!

After he had left the Village Square, Referee Toothless had cornered him. Apparently you couldn't team up with others in a game of tag. Snotlout had gotten in the way of Hiccup's escape, giving Tuffnut the upper hand. Snotlout would have called Toothless out for favoritism, but Toothless had been the one who pushed Hiccup out into the open in the first place.

So, now Snotlout had to play the game barefoot. Toothless hadn't been able to communicate what he wanted clearly enough for the simpleton. So, he had knocked Snotlout over and taken his boots. Snotlout's feet were cold and he had less options for places to go unless he wanted to freeze his feet. Snotlout had been about to call it a night and be It for the second night in a row. But he decided that since he was It anyway, that he might as well go to the Village Square, which was clear of snow for the dancing and celebrating, and enjoy himself.

As Snotlout moved through the celebrations, looking around for something he wanted to join in on, he spotted a large figure. It looked like Fishlegs, but before he went about tagging, Snotlout was going to make sure it was who he thought it was.

As Snotlout maneuvered through the Square he could hear Fishlegs' voice as he complimented someone's cooking. Yep, Snotlout had the right person this time.

He came up right behind Fishlegs, deciding to take a more subtle approach to tagging this time around. They couldn't afford drawing anymore attention to themselves and the game.

"Hey, Fishlegs." Fishlegs felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and froze.

"Darn it..." Fishlegs said in disappointment. Now he was going to be It for the night. He had no chance of tagging anyone else today. If the others were smart, they would have gone home early, since being in bed meant you were safe.

Oh well, Fishlegs would just find someone to tag tomorrow and enjoy the festivities tonight. At least he didn't have to worry about running into It, since that was him. That, at least, allowed him to relax a little.


	3. Chapter 3

Day Three: The Dragons Return Today

Hiccup woke early, eager to get started. He knew that he would be targeted again since it was the last day of the game and he had only, kind of, been tagged once. For some reason, everyone always wanted to tag him.

"Good morning, Hiccup." Stoick greeted his son, causing Hiccup to look up in surprise.

"Oh, hey dad. Hi, Gobber." Hiccup greeted both of the men sitting at the table. They had clearly just eaten some breakfast, as there were remnants of food scattered across the table. Although, there was one plate of food, untouched, and presumably for Hiccup.

"Come have some breakfast." Stoick invited Hiccup to the table, who approached with a little suspicion. His father usually ate in the Hall with Gobber and sometimes Spitelout. Both his father and Gobber eating in their home was rather unusual. But Hiccup sat down anyway.

"Where's your fish-eating shadow?" Gobber asked, looking around for Toothless.

"Um, he's probably already outside, playing or something. He wakes earlier than me, much to his annoyance." That was true enough.

Gobber nodded, accepting the excuse. They sat in silence for a while and Hiccup decided to have a few bites of food, even if it was just to have something to do while they sat there.

"What was going on yesterday?" Stoick suddenly asked. He wasn't very good at beating around the bush.

"What about yesterday?" Hiccup cursed the slight waver in his voice. He was so bad at this part of the game. Honestly, if the others truly wanted him to lose, all they had to do was put him in a bunch of situations where he had to come up with explanations, kind of like what Astrid liked to do to him, and he would eventually be out of the game for letting slip what they were playing.

"You were... eh, fighting? Fighting with your friends." Stoick didn't quite know how to describe whatever it was that happened yesterday.

"No... I don't remember fighting with anyone yesterday." Hiccup was very focused on his food. Then he added for good measure, "Doesn't sound like me."

"Mmhmm." Stoick clearly wasn't buying it, Hiccup could hear it in his father's voice.

"If you won't answer him, maybe you'll answer me." Gobber spoke up, Hiccup had to bite back a curse as the interrogation continued. "What's going on with you and Astrid?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Hiccup asked, causing the other two to perk up at the potential answer. "Astrid and I are officially courting. There was an announcement and a little celebration. I'm sure you were there."

Gobber deflated at the answer, he should have known, really. Hiccup wasn't going to be willingly forthcoming. Fortunately, Stoick seemed to know how to handle the situation.

"Hiccup, no one doubts how you two feel about each other." Hiccup stiffened at his father's words. He really didn't want this conversation to continue. "It's only natural that you two will have some disagreements as you get to know each other on a more intimate level."

"Please, stop." Hiccup went ignored, as his father thought he needed to have a talk.

"You two are learning how to work together as more than just a team or partners in battle." Stoick continued and Hiccup hid his face in his hands. "You'll someday be partners in everything you do. You'll be one."

Hiccup scrambled to his feet, not liking the direction this seemed to be going. "Wow, dad. That is... so great. You're right! I'll go talk to Astrid, clear everything up."

Stoick was startled by the interruption. Was Hiccup sincerely taking his words to heart so soon in the conversation? Stoick had so much more he thought he needed to say.

Hiccup continued to move for the door as he spoke. "Great talk, I really appreciate it. I'll just be going now..."

Hiccup opened the front door cautiously and quickly took a step back. Then he peeked his head out and looked around before closing the door and running off. Stoick and Gobber didn't know what to make of his behavior.

—

Astrid had been laying low for most of the day. She didn't want to let her guard down like last time. Today was the last day of the game and she would not lose! The dragons could be back at any point during the day.

Nothing seemed to be going on and Astrid wondered who was It now. Last time she checked, it was Tuffnut, and Snotlout had been following him around. Since everyone seemed to be doing their own thing, Astrid decided to head back home and see what her mom was doing. Maybe she could offer to help out with more cooking stuff. She would probably need to learn some of this stuff someday anyway, especially since her and Hiccup's relationship was escalating so quickly.

"Astrid, there you are." Sigrid brushed some hair behind her daughter's ear as a greeting, when Astrid entered the home. "Is everything okay?"

"Um, yeah...?" Astrid didn't know why her mom was acting like something had happened to upset her.

"How's Hiccup?" Sigrid still seemed concerned, which was starting to concern Astrid.

"What do you mean...?" Astrid frowned. "Did something happen to Hiccup?"

"You don't know?

"Mom!" Astrid started to get a little panicky and was ready to run out the door and find her boyfriend.

"Relax, dear. I don't think he was hurt too badly, if at all. Although, he did have a rough landing..."

"I'm going to go see Hiccup." Before Astrid could throw open the door and run off, Sigrid grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward her.

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to worry you." She tried to speak more calmly and clearly. "Hiccup, Snotlout, and Tuffnut had a... an altercation in the Square yesterday. Hiccup got knocked down, but he was able to run away. So, physically, I'm sure he is fine. I just wanted to ask you if everything was okay."

"Oh. I hadn't heard about that, actually. I haven't seen Hiccup since..." Astrid trailed off as she tried to remember when. Almost two days ago now, probably.

"Oh, Astrid." Sigrid gave her a sad look. "I've heard some rumors that you and Hiccup are having relationship problems."

"What? How...? That's not true." Astrid had no idea how that rumor had spread. Maybe because she and Hiccup hadn't been spending every moment together since they were playing tag.

"Astrid, it's okay. Your father and I have disagreements sometimes, but we still love each other. Hiccup is such a sweet and understanding boy. I'm sure if you apologize, he'll forgive you." Sigrid had meant to reassure her daughter.

"We're not-" Astrid stopped, her mother's words finally sinking in. "Wait. You think I'm the one to blame? Why are you assuming that I am at fault?"

"Oh." Sigrid hadn't even realized that she had jumped to conclusions. It had just seemed like the most likely option. "Well, I mean. You're dating Hiccup."

"I..." Astrid stopped herself again, as she thought through her mom's words. "Okay, fine. You have a point."

"Why don't you go talk with Hiccup? It would be a shame if you two were still fighting during Snoggletog." Sigrid suggested gently. Her daughter's reactions to her words seemed to confirm that the two had a disagreement. Astrid wanted to protest, but how else was she to explain what had been going on without spoiling the game? So she gave in.

"Yeah, okay. You're right. Thanks, mom." Astrid moved to leave the house again. So much for her plans to learn some domesticity from her mom, for Hiccup, the one she was supposedly fighting with.

—

Fishlegs was panicking. It was the last day of Snoggletog Tag and he couldn't find anyone! They had better not be hiding out for the last part of the game. Where was Referee Toothless when you needed him?

The dragons could be back from Dragon Island anytime now. It could be minutes from now, or hours. There was no set time!

As Fishlegs scrambled through the streets, desperately looking for someone, anyone, he saw the door to the Hofferson home open. Astrid! She was going to be so mad at him. He ran up to the house. Astrid had opened the door and then turned around to say something to someone, so she was too distracted to see him coming.

As Astrid turned back around to exit the house, her eyes widened in surprise as a pudgy finger reached out to poke her, timidly, in the forehead. Astrid remained still. Had that just happened? Had she really just gotten tagged? And so close to the end of the game. No!

"Fishlegs." Astrid said his name in the most intimidating voice he had ever heard.

"I'm sorry!" He squeaked before running away, even though there were no tag backs, he was not going to stick around an angry Astrid.

"Is everything alright, Astrid?" Sigrid asked from inside the house.

"Yeah, just great." Astrid sighed, but then perked up. Wait a second. "Actually, mom? Maybe you can help me with something..."

—

Hiccup knew it wasn't the best idea to roam the streets of Berk, right before the potential end of the game. But hiding out for the last part was both against the rules and incredibly boring. He hadn't seen anyone else from the game around anyway.

He decided to walk through where people had displayed some of their handmade goods. Maybe he could find something for Astrid, as a gift for Snoggletog. Before he got too far, however, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Hiccup froze. No, he was never this careless. He couldn't possibly be It!

"Hiccup, may I have a word, please?" Hiccup turned around to see Sigrid. He was surprised to see her, but relieved that he wasn't It.

"Oh, yeah, sure. What do you need?" Hiccup responded kindly.

"Astrid helped me make these pies, and I thought that you and Stoick would enjoy one." Sigrid held out an apple pie. Hiccup let her put it in his hands. It was surprisingly heavy, but then it was a pretty big pie.

"Thank you, um, yeah. I'm sure he'll enjoy it as much as I will." Now he was weighed down by a pie and stuck in a conversation with someone he respected and wouldn't leave in a hurry. Great. He should've remained more discreet.

"About Astrid..." Sigrid was about to continue and explain how nervous her daughter was to approach him, but assure Hiccup that she wanted to talk. But she never got the chance.

"Ah ha!" Astrid leapt out of no where and smacked Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup had tried to move away, but hadn't wanted to drop the delicate pie or insult his probable, future mother-in-law.

"Astrid!" Sigrid was about to reprimand her daughter for her less than subtle approach to such an important conversation, but she found her pie being pushed back into her hands, and was surprised.

"Wow, this is a new low for you." Hiccup got after Astrid, some frustration evident in his voice.

"What, being smart?" Astrid seemed rather proud of herself and Sigrid didn't know what to make of the situation.

"Cheating!" Hiccup accused her loudly, gaining the attention of the people around them. Sigrid's eyes widened. Astrid would never. Would she...? "You're a cheater! I can't believe you."

"How is that cheating? You're just being overly sensitive." The crowd of people started whispering to each other at their words.

"You used her to get to me! You can't bring other people into this." Hiccup reprimanded. He was It, and it was hardly very fair. He had to think fast if he wasn't going to lose. But first, he was going to take Astrid down, even if it was more of a mock-fight than anything.

Astrid backed up a few steps, reading Hiccup's body language perfectly. "Just remember... you can't get me back. It doesn't work that way."

"Oh? Now you want to play fair?" Hiccup lunged forward but Astrid darted out of the way.

"Wait just a minute. Why don't we-" Sigrid tried to play the peacekeeper, but Astrid had run off and Hiccup had raced after her.

Everyone in the vicinity was aware of the situation at this point. Or, at least, they thought they were. They had just watched Hiccup accuse Astrid of cheating. Astrid hadn't denied it. Then they started chasing each other all over the village. What exactly happened over on Dragon's Edge? Perhaps sending a group of teenagers out on their own had been a bad idea. But Hiccup and Astrid were normally so responsible.

"Astrid!" Sigrid called after her daughter, in distress. If what Hiccup said was true, it didn't need to be made so public. Astrid would be shamed. She had been disloyal to the Chief's son, and Sigrid didn't even know to what extent. And Hiccup, what was he trying to accomplish? He wouldn't hurt Astrid, not even if what he said was true. He would have a right to be upset, but he wouldn't resort to violence. But Sigrid didn't know just how far Hiccup could be pushed before his calm and gentle demeanor were cast aside.

"What is going on?" Stoick had arrived at the Square. The people were murmuring and whispering to each other. Some were calling after Hiccup and Astrid. Others arguing over the situation and starting to take sides.

"Chief!" Sigrid was relieved to see him. He could get through to Hiccup, surely. She did not agree with her daughter's actions, not one bit, assuming it was true, but she didn't want Astrid to get hurt. "Hiccup and Astrid..."

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Stoick was concerned by the expression on Sigrid's face. He looked around and saw in the distance, Hiccup chasing after a frantic Astrid.

"They had a fight. Hiccup accused Astrid of..." Sigrid just couldn't believe it to be true. "He accused Astrid of cheating. Now he's chasing her around."

Stoick was startled by the news. If something that big had been eating at Hiccup, he should have said something. Stoick should have pushed to finish his lecture that morning. He didn't find it that believable that Astrid would do such a thing, but something big had definitely happened between them.

"Hiccup!" Stoick roared in his thunderous voice. "Hiccup, stop!"

The other players of the game arrived in the Village Square, separately. They had all heard a big commotion and thought that the dragons had returned. They wanted to see who was still It. But it seemed the game was still not over.

Hiccup did not stop. If Astrid could count that last tag, then he could tag her back. Maybe. He would even accept it if they both lost the game, at least he would have taken her down with him.

Toothless had witnessed the game spiraling out of control. It was time for the referee to step in. He trotted into the middle of the Square and let out a mighty roar. Everyone quieted and turned their attention to the Night Fury.

Hiccup and Astrid stopped. They glanced at each other and mutually agreed. They had to listen to Referee Toothless. He had the last say in all matters regarding Snoggletog Tag.

Referee Toothless gave them a disapproving stare as they returned to the Village Square, then he snorted at them.

The people were confused. Why was Toothless in control of the situation?

"Astrid, please tell me it isn't true." Arne had been amongst the crowd when the whole thing started and now stood at Sigrid's side.

"What's true...?" Astrid and Hiccup exchanged a confused glance. Surely a game of tag didn't warrant such a disappointed tone.

"What Hiccup just, um, accused you of." Sigrid answered. Hiccup wasn't one to jump to conclusions or wrongfully accuse someone of something. He would try to find a way to blame himself first, then likely forgive the person who wronged him. But maybe this was asking too much this time around.

"Cheating?" Astrid still wasn't getting it.

"Yes." Sigrid barely got out her response. They had raised her better than this. Everyone present was waiting with baited breath. They would have never suspected such a thing between the most promising of the next generation, of Hiccup and Astrid who were meant to be.

The other Snoggletog Tag players were just as confused as Hiccup and Astrid.

"Well... it depends on how you look at it." Astrid finally responded, since apparently everyone cared about the rules of their silly game so much. How did they even know so much about the game anyway? Had their chasing given them away? "Hiccup certainly seems to think I did."

"Astrid, this isn't a joke. This is serious. You can't 'kind of cheat.' Either you were disloyal or you weren't." Arne reprimanded with a firm voice.

"Wait, disloyal?" Astrid was growing concerned, what was he talking about? What had she done?

"You just admitted to cheating on the Chief's son." Gobber finally, and quite uncharacteristically, clarified things for her. Astrid's eyes widened in shock at the implication.

Hiccup was struck with the realization of where the miscommunication had occurred and his eyes widened. "Oh..."

"I would never- You really think I would- How could you...?" Astrid was at a loss of how to respond. She was repulsed by the very idea. "I love Hiccup! I would never be disloyal to him."

"Aw, thanks." Astrid shot Hiccup an amused look.

"But you just said..." Sigrid was lost now too.

"Everyone, quiet." Stoick spoke up at last. He hadn't even given the order that loudly, but his voice was one not to be argued with. "Hiccup, since you are the supposed victim in this situation, perhaps you can clarify the situation for us."

"Yeah, okay." Hiccup said with resignation. He would have to lose the game, so that Astrid wouldn't be branded an unfaithful traitor, made worse by the fact that he was the heir. "Why not? I was probably going to lose anyway."

"Hiccup, this is my fault. I'll take the blame for this, you can still win." Astrid interrupted him.

"I told Hiccup to tell us, not you." Stoick was in a no-nonsense mood. This involved his son's future and happiness. He was fond of Astrid and did not want to think that she would ever commit such an act. But, he had to get the truth out of someone and Hiccup was notoriously a terrible liar.

"Well, you see..." Hiccup began, "The second year we had Snoggletog, after making peace with the dragons, we were all kind of down after the dragons left again. I mean, everyone was... but..."

"Get to the point, Hiccup." Stoick urged.

"Everyone was looking for a way to pass the time until the dragons returned, including us. So, we started this new... tradition?" He looked at Astrid, who shrugged. She supposed it was kind of a tradition now. "A tradition to help us get through the days we have to spend around the holidays without the other dragons."

"What does this have to do with our current situation?" Stoick was getting a little impatient. Hiccup seemed to still be friendly with Astrid, which only confused Stoick more.

"Um, kind of everything. It's the reason for this whole thing." Hiccup answered. At Stoick's gesture to continue, he did. "We started a game of tag. And it lasted for a few days, until the dragons came back. It was fun and it took our minds off of missing our dragon friends, so we decided to keep doing it."

Stoick thought that maybe he could see where this was going. He nodded, indicating Hiccup should keep explaining.

"We've been playing tag the past couple days and one of the rules is that you can't let anyone else know what we're doing. It adds... I guess, a sneaky element to the game. Astrid's been trying to tag me and I've been trying to avoid her. We're still a couple, and Astrid has never been anything but completely loyal to me. When I called her a cheater, I meant that she was bending the rules of the game, not... not our relationship."

Everyone present took a moment to let that new information sink in. When they thought about it, it made complete sense. It explained so many things! The odd behavior, the running, the tackling, the sneaking. Everything made sense now.

"Ha!" Gobber broke the silence. "You guys are such dorks. All this trouble, for tag?"

"It's fun!" Astrid defended. She stepped forward, to Hiccup's side, and slipped her arm through his, in a show of support and unity. Hiccup was the only one for her, and she knew he felt the same.

"Is Hiccup disqualified? Did he finally lose the game?" Snotlout pushed his way through the crowd. "Please tell me that the Tag King just lost the game!"

"Tag King?" Ruffnut looked thoughtful "I like it."

"What does Referee Toothless say?" Tuffnut asked, turning to look at said dragon.

"Referee Toothless...?" Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"That explains so much." Gobber commented.

Toothless looked up at the sky, where the dragons would soon appear, and then cooed at all of them. '_Game is still on.'_

"What?" Snotlout asked in his loud voice. "What does that mean?"

"He says we're still all in play. No one gets blamed for outing the game." Hiccup translated.

"Seriously? But he literally just told the whole village!" Snotlout complained.

"Maybe Toothless understands that our relationship is more important than Snoggletog Tag." Astrid gave Snotlout an annoyed look.

"I call favoritism!" Snotlout accused. "He's your dragon."

"He penalized me last year! He took away my prosthetic leg. I had to hop around everywhere!" Hiccup defended himself. No, he was not favored by Referee Toothless. Referee Toothless was not one to cross, he was unforgiving.

"And yet you still avoided getting tagged." Astrid commented.

"You told me it broke and you hadn't made a new one yet." Stoick butted in.

"I lied." Hiccup shrugged. "I'm surprised you actually believed me. I was far from convincing."

"I had no reason to believe that it was untrue." Stoick had known Hiccup wasn't telling him the complete truth, but why lie about a broken prosthetic leg? He assumed that he was embarrassed by how it happened and that was why he was acting strangely.

"Referee Toothless has a thing for taking away necessities that help people get around." Snotlout grumbled, looking down at his bare feet. Toothless snorted. He had no regrets.

"Look!" Fishlegs squealed in excitement. "I can see the dragons on the horizon!"

There were cheers all around. The dragons and their babies were returning! The Snoggletog Eve celebrations could really start once they returned for the holiday.

"Ah!" Hiccup jumped forward in a sudden moment of panic. He swung his arm out and slapped Snotlout without even thinking his actions through. Hiccup widened his eyes when he realized what he had just done.

"Ow."

"Wait, was I still It?" Hiccup looked to Toothless who gave him an affirming nod. "Maybe I should call favoritism. I can't be sneaky, but Astrid can?"

Toothless huffed and Astrid looked smug.

"Fine." Hiccup accepted it. "Then I guess Snotlout is It now."

"Argh! Again?" Snotlout moved for Astrid who simply glared him down. "I'll just go tag someone else..."

"Whoa! You're just breaking all sorts of rules, aren't you?" Hiccup pointed a finger at Astrid, who shrugged.

"Referee Toothless never said that intimidation was against the rules. Right, Referee Toothless?" Astrid looked to the dragon, who agreed.

"You're going to take her side again? If I did that you would penalize me!"

"Fine, let Snotlout tag me, then I'll just tag you again."

"I rescind my objections..." Hiccup went quiet and Astrid smiled in amusement.

It kind of worked out for Hiccup anyway. The dragons were getting closer to Berk and Snotlout couldn't tag him back, so he was safe until he managed to tag someone else, if that ever happened.

The people were content to watch how things played out. Now that they knew what was going on, the game of Snoggletog Tag was rather entertaining to watch. Maybe their new tradition for the following year would be watching Snoggletog Tag.

Snotlout went straight for Fishlegs. He was an easy target most of the time and the one Snotlout went for the most. Fishlegs tried to get away, but the area was fairly packed with people and he couldn't squeeze through the crowd.

"You just had to go for me!" Fishlegs complained as soon as he was tagged. The dragons were getting closer, the game would end soon. And Fishlegs might not be able to tag someone in time. He ran for the twins, expecting them to slip through the crowd or start running and dodging. But as Tuffnut turned to run away, Ruffnut blocked his path.

"Oh, so sorry." She said as she acted like she was trying to run in the opposite direction. The twins tried to get around each other, but ended up mirroring each other's movements instead, continuing to block one another.

"Ruffnut!"

"Excuse me, so sorry." Ruffnut responded, a devious light in her eyes.

Fishlegs had time to get to them during the time the twins were trying to get around each other. Ruffnut immediately jumped back and Fishlegs poked Tuffnut's shoulder.

"Why?!" Tuffnut yelled out dramatically.

"Ha! You're going to be a loser for the third year in a row!" Ruffnut cackled, her plan to get her brother to be It, successful.

"I would be mad at you, but that was some good Loki-ing." Tuffnut complimented. He looked around, the dragon in the lead of the home flight to Berk would land in less than a minute. There was no way he would be able to tag someone in time. He sighed. "Guess I'm It for the third year in a row."

Hiccup could tell that Tuffnut was bummed out, even if he didn't really want to show it in front of so many people. He had lost, somewhat unfairly the past two years. It didn't seem right that he should be It again.

"Give It to me." Hiccup held out his hand.

"What? Really?" Tuffnut perked up. He would love to start out next year's game, not being It. He would appreciate not having to deal with Snotlout and Ruffnut's jokes about him being a loser all year.

Hiccup nodded with a small smile. Tuffnut rushed forward, the dragon was about to land and end the game. He would barely have enough time to tag Hiccup.

As soon as he was about to bring his hand down and tag Hiccup's offered hand, Astrid shoved Hiccup out of the way and accepted the tag in his place.

Hiccup gasped in surprise as he landed on the ground. "Hey!"

The first dragon landed on Berk. The game was over. The people around them left to greet the dragons back home, ignoring the aftermath of the game.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to push you so hard." Astrid bent over to help Hiccup back to his feet.

"Thanks." Hiccup said as she assisted him, but his gratitude had a double meaning.

"You okay?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded and gave her a loving smile that Astrid returned. Astrid reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze as she held it. She had been really pushing Hiccup's limits during the game, she had told herself it was all in good fun. But in the end, Hiccup was always going to do what was best for others, no matter what it cost him. And she would always be there to support him and do what was best for him.

"So, Astrid's It?" Tuffnut asked. Referee Toothless gave a little roar in confirmation.

"I'm It." Astrid agreed.

"I'm not a loser anymore!" Tuffnut cheered, getting laughs out of the others.

"Why don't we move this celebration up to the Great Hall?" Stoick suggested loudly. He had watched the end of the Snoggletog Tag and decided that he would let it continue in years to come. They hadn't done any harm, besides some miscommunication.

He was happy to see how much Hiccup and Astrid cared for each other. They had each other's backs, they supported one another, their love was deep and sincere. Why had they allowed themselves to doubt that in the first place?

"Astrid, I think I owe you an apology." Stoick stopped Hiccup and Astrid as they were about to head, hand in hand, for the Great Hall with everyone else.

"No, Chief. It's okay. We kind of made a mess of things during our game." Astrid assured him.

"I'm sorry anyway. I shouldn't have doubted your dedication and loyalty to my son. You've never done anything to warrant such criticism." Stoick said sincerely. "Thank you for being so good to Hiccup."

Astrid smiled at her Chief and nodded her acceptance at his kind words, she was blushing a little at the attention. "Thank you."

"We're sorry as well, Astrid." Sigrid said on behalf of her and Arne. "I'm glad things weren't what they seemed. It's good to see you two so happy together."

"Thanks mom." Astrid accepted a hug from her mom and a kiss on the forehead from her dad.

"Now, I want to hear some Snoggletog Tag stories once we get to the Hall." Stoick led the young couple, Sigrid, and Arne up to the Great Hall for some Snoggletog celebrations.

"I'm curious to know what exactly Hiccup did to get a penalty from Toothless." Arne laughed.

"I'm still surprised that Hiccup is so good at the game." Gobber joined the conversation as the group caught up to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hiccup pretended to be offended. Astrid appeased him by kissing his cheek and holding his hand again.

"Everyone was just impressed by your prowess and quick thinking." Astrid complimented. It was true, he had shown a lot of skill. Skill they hadn't all known he possessed. However, people were mostly touched by his show of heart. That was their Hiccup.

Once everyone was gathered in the Great Hall, the Snoggletog Eve feast and party began. They spent the evening enjoying each other's company, reuniting with their dragon friends, eating everyone's best dishes, and telling stories.

—

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you had fun reading my Snoggletog story, I certainly had fun writing it! I appreciate the reviews, favs, and follows!

Update 7/8/20: Watch out for more Snoggletog Tag adventures Christmas 2020, this story isn't complete yet! It will also be a part of my Deviation AU (where Stoick survives the second movie), so go check out my fan fic, "Deviation." Thanks again!


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